Mission teen with rare disorder claims ban from prom is human rights violation

MISSION (NEWS 1130) – Hope is fading a student barred from attending an upcoming high school dance in Mission can have that decision reversed.

Trissanna Hunter, who’s in Grade 11 at Ecole Mission Senior Secondary, says she has enough credit to graduate this year, but she suffers chronic pain from the genetic disorder Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which means she has several doctors’ and physiotherapy appointments every week.

“Honestly, at this point, I’m giving up. I doubt the school’s going to let me go anyway. I’m just hoping to get my story out there anyway and to prevent this issue from happening to anybody else in the future.”

The 16-year-old is accusing school administrators of violating her human rights because of her disability.

“I was born with it. There’s no cure. I just have to live with it and I shouldn’t be punished for something that I didn’t choose to have.”

Trissanna’s mother says she would still like to see her daughter attend the event.

“I kind of feel like the school is singling her out and saying ‘no she can’t’ just because she has all these problems,” Sara Hunter says.

She adds Trissanna is a good student, and always makes up the work she’s missed.

“This year her teachers are really good and she’ll get the homework from them, or I’ll get the homework from them, and then she does it at home,” Sara tells NEWS 1130. Some days she has to go to the hospital because something’s happened — she could have a dislocation or her ribs will go out. She can’t breathe and different issues, and she’ll end up in hospital, and she’ll do her homework there when she’s got little breaks in between of her pain and stuff that she’s going through.”

Trissanna’s mother adds her daughter has been waiting up to two years for some appointments, and some just so happen to fall within the school day.

Angus Wilson, the Superintendent of the Mission School District (75), insists allowances are often made for students with medical conditions.

“There is always accomodation and an effort to try to make up for these things. We are adaptable and flexible, but there has to be good communication between home and school about what’s going on and so on.”

While he can’t talk about this particular case, Wilson says all students must follow certain rules and that’s clearly communicated throughout the year.

“We, of course, are flexible and we base it on the individual student’s needs, but again, there are a series of criteria that students are expected to fulfill in order to attend something like prom.”

Wilson also says parents have up to two weeks to notify staff about why their child missed class.